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Clapper hit for dossier leak dodge in House GOP Russia report

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper provided “inconsistent testimony” about his contacts with media, the House Intelligence Committee’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election states.

(AP)

Former intelligence chief James Clapper is facing scrutiny for allegedly providing “inconsistent testimony” to the House Intelligence Committee regarding his discussions with the media about the anti-Trump dossier.

The claim was contained in the report released Friday by House Intelligence Committee Republicans.

The report declared investigators had found “no evidence” of collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russia — findings that Democrats vehemently disputed. But while the report was touted by Trump allies, it could cause problems for Clapper, the director of national intelligence under the Obama administration.

The report stated that in a private interview with the committee on July 17, 2017, Clapper’s response wavered regarding his media contacts over the dossier. He initially denied those contacts, yet later admited to discussing the dossier contents with Jake Tapper of CNN, where Clapper landed a job after leaving government.

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper had contact with CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent Jake Tapper in early January 2017.

(AP/Reuters)

“When initially asked about leaks related to the ICA in July 2017, former DNI Clapper flatly denied ‘discussing the dossier [compiled by Steele], or any other intelligence related to Russia hacking of the 2016 election with journalists’,” the report read.

But the report stated that Clapper “subsequently acknowledged discussing the ‘dossier with CNN journalist Jake Tapper,’ and admitted that he might have spoken with other journalists about the same topic.”

Clapper became a CNN national security analyst in August 2017, just one month after his "executive interview" with the committee.